(From Montevideo, Uruguay) – The Uruguayan government decreed a change in the regulations regarding traffic violations committed by foreigners within the country. The rule, published a week ago, establishes that A person who was fined must pay the fine before leaving the country. The owner of the vehicle in violation will be notified of the non-compliance at the checkpoints installed on national routes or at the address he or she has designated.
This new regulation is being implemented in these weeks and implies a change to the system that was established, which established that the payment of the fine was left to the will of the offender. Ministry of Transport and Public Works They had been looking for alternatives since last year on how to implement this payment because, in fact, they were not collecting that money, they explained to Infobae sources of the Uruguayan Executive Branch.
The decree establishes that the payment of fines must be paid before leaving the country through the website or the application of the Single Vehicle Entry Collection System (Sucive) or in the collection networks anywhere in the country. The regulations leave open the possibility for departmental governments to look for other alternatives for collections.
The decree also sets a new amount for the fines for speeding on national routeswhich will be 17,252 Uruguayan pesos (about USD 440).
The decree also establishes that Ambulances are exempt from speeding fines, as long as they are duly registered and are performing a patient transfer service at the time of the traffic violation. Each body that has jurisdiction in the application of fines for speeding may establish the requirements to exempt these medical vehicles from the sanctions.
A 2019 law already provided that when the traffic offender did not prove his legal residence in Uruguayan territory, he must pay the penalties before leaving the country, but no mechanism had been established for this regulation to become effective. Uruguayan regulations also establish that the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MTOP) and the Interior are responsible for monitoring speeding on national routes.
In 2022, the MTOP signed an agreement with the Congress of Mayors – which brings together all the departmental governments of Uruguay – which obliged this body to enable the management of the collection of traffic fines on national routes and to incorporate information on taxes, fines, sanctions and tolls.
Before the decree was published, the Uruguayan government considered it necessary to regulate the law to prevent fines from going unpaid. This was explained in the regulations signed by President Luis Lacalle Pou and all the ministers.
“It is necessary to proceed to regulate the aforementioned legal norms in order to enforce the collection of fines for traffic violations for speeding committed by foreigners throughout the national territory, as well as update the ceiling of the amount for fines for traffic violations. traffic for speeding in national jurisdiction and exempt ambulance vehicles from the application of fines for traffic violations in strict compliance with the patient transfer service,” the rule says.
In East Point, one of the Uruguayan destinations most visited by tourists, 20% of traffic violations applied last January belonged to foreign vehicles. The Director of Transit Municipality of MaldonadoJuan Pígola, reported months ago that debts and inquiries from Argentines about the fines accumulated in the main resort grew.
